Imagine this, you have followed a new firm and got a welcome pack. There are a shiny mug, a soft T-shirt, perhaps a laptop bag each with the corporate logo on it. Others refer to this as a swag but these items of corporate merchandise have more clout than shelf-worth. Concrete, common, experiences of the kind have the ability to toggle both the disconnected and the viciously devoted.
Ok, forget, for a moment, about purely free goodies. This is stuff that constitutes a mark of membership. Employees talk. They exchange information. The subliminal absence of boundaries that may trigger unexpressed team spirit erupts after seeing a co-worker drinking out of the same identified drinkware in an online video conference. Physical tokens do do that science says–they generate those clingy sentiments of belonging that create levees to motivation.
However this is where you have some fun. Merchandise is more than putting logos on something that is on sale at wholesale. When employees get attentive decisions–consider environmentally friendly bottles or smart technological devices–they feel recognized. It was not that the company chose the cheapest pen. There was one person somewhere, who thought, this individual can be a marathon runner. Perhaps, they are fond of coffee breaks or work at home in a hammock.” It is important to have the feeling that someone understands. It is not the distinction between one more gift and they get me.
Engagement is a spastic monster. Monetary compensation is important, yes, but it is just at the tip of the iceberg. Each and every coffee mug, hoodie, or badge does a triple duty: it is rewarding; it is also like a soft coal shaping company lore. Swag emerges on Instagram stories on weekends, or on hikes, and it satisfies an understated feeling of pride. Never taken your branded hoodie by a family member? It is a moving advertisement. The ripple effect is released outwards.